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Saturday, July 09, 2016

Volunteering Tales Part I

As usual, I feel bad about not being able to write anything here for over a month BUT STILL I don't do anything about it. So while I was able to snuck out a few minutes away from all the lesser important things I have in my life AND while still inspired, I'll have a go at it.

This has been in my head for a while I need to set it free. So.

Disclaimer: I'm not making this up nor being fastidious.

I've been on the road for quite some time already that I've gotten used to Western behaviour and the ocean of differences that we seem to have (and by Western I meant European and North Americans). I'm not talking about religion, culture, nor belief here. These observations and experiences are based solely on working, OKAY, volunteering ethics.

Ever since JC joined me in Peru, we have been fortunate enough to have volunteered together in a backpacker hostel and in a retired couple's private property (where I am currently typing all these thoughts). The work is simple and manageable, some days it can get busy but nothing that we couldn't handle ourselves. We do, however, seem to always run into a problem with fellow volunteers with bad working behaviour and annoying habits such as:

Lack of care with what they're doing. Tasks as simple as cleaning are done half-heartedly or not done at all which could mean double job for someone else. Ex: cleaning a wet, muddy bathroom floor with dirty mop, purposely leaving dishes unwashed on their shifts so the volunteer on the next shift would do it, etc. I mean you are volunteering in a backpacker hostel so you basically know what you got yourself into.

Not knowing the difference between distilled water and vinegar. Someone actually mopped the floor using vinegar I wanted to cry.

Not giving a fuck over clogged drains that they themselves created by throwing all the little stuff on the sink, not bothering to clear and throw them away on the garbage bin like any normal human being would.

Using kitchen sponge for cleaning non-dishes related stuff. *cringes*

Leaving unwashed dishes everywhere (Okay I have an issue with unwashed dishes if you haven't noticed yet).

Not cleaning up right after prep/cooking session.

Antsy to leave shift 30 minutes before it actually ends.

Working as little as possible. If left unsupervised, won't do what should be done at all. The annoying thing is they do get away with it which leads me back to what I previously said, double the work for someone else.

I am not perfect myself, I am also guilty of procrastinating sometimes but not to the point where I let someone else do the job that I know I should be doing. I may be a bit of a stickler when it comes to washing dishes and kitchen overall tidiness (everyone should, imho) but it's a common courtesy to clean up after yourself, right?! Are they insensitive or am I too sensitive? I'm not too sure about all this but I suspect our [different] backgrounds may have something to do with our work behaviour.

Back home I've always hated cleaning chores but after doing it for a few months now I've learned to appreciate, even liked (gasp!) it. We may not get paid for what we do but it's no excuse for doing a lousy job.

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Mariela loves backpacking, going on unplanned trips, climbing mountains, wading in any water bodies, eating ice creams, listening to some famous and practically unknown music makers and getting lost on some really good books. She dreams of traveling and eating her way around the world. See where her third world salary rate takes her.